US envoy: Turkey among top seven to invest in

USA's Ambassador in Ankara Francis Ricciardone on Friday said, "The US government has reviewed the world in terms of strategic business opportunities and placed Turkey among the top seven countries suitable for commerce and investment." Ricciardone attended "Turkey-US Cooperation Days Eskisehir Meeting" organized by Eskisehir Industrialists and Businessmen Association (ESIAD) in Eskisehir. Ricciardone emphasized that there was a great potential between Turkey and the EU in terms of trade and investment and stated that the potential would increase if businessmen and NGOs cooperated. "Since our President Barack Obama's Turkey visit in 2009, US exports to Turkey increased by 65 percent and Turkey's exports to US increased by 75 percent. We have decided to push the limits and are working on whether we could double the trade between two countries. We think highly of Turkey's determination to be among the top ten economies in the world and 2023 targets,"Ricciardone said. Stating that around 200 US companies were actively doing business in Turkey and the companies were increasing day by day, Ricciardone said, "Some major US companies have come to Turkey since I began my assignment. This is an indication that US firms would like to do more business in Turkey." "The US government has reviewed the world in terms of strategic business opportunities and placed Turkey among the top seven countries suitable for commerce and investment. Turkey is the only country from Europe out of these countries. The US is aware of the fact that Turkey is a part of the Europe with the customs union agreement," Ricciardone added.